There is a long, long way to go before the Cleveland Browns take the field to open the 2026 season. However, if a surprising current trend continues, quarterback Deshaun Watson could be well on his way to regaining his starting job.
It’s not like the Browns didn’t look very hard for his replacement. Since Watson last played in a game in October 2024, Cleveland has traded for and signed multiple veteran QBs, and it selected three rookies in the NFL Draft.
Heading into this year’s first set of organized team activities (OTAs), Watson seems to have a clear lead in the competition against Sheduer Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. It is a stunning turn of events, considering that owner Jimmy Haslam called the team’s 2022 trade for Watson a “big swing and miss” a little more than a year ago.
Insider Tony Grossi recently revealed why the Browns are suddenly committed to Watson, and it has as much to do with him as it does the other available options.
“Number one, Watson made a pretty good recovery from what we thought were possibly career-ending injuries. Everyone was amazed at how well he came back from that. The other thing is, they’re paying him anyway. They created the exit strategy last year, and it involves next year, not this year. The third thing is, they haven’t found their future quarterback yet. You need a veteran in that quarterback room, and you’re paying this one $46 million and he looks to be in better shape than you’ve ever seen him in four years,” Grossi said.
What changed from Jimmy Haslam calling the Deshaun Watson trade a “swing and a miss” to “a good chance to start” in just one year? @TonyGrossi breaks it down… pic.twitter.com/vQWMlONwOz
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) May 19, 2026
Watson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023, and he then sat out last season because of an Achilles injury he suffered in 2024 and a subsequent setback in his recovery. However, the 30-year-old seems to be back at 100 percent, which he showed while having a “phenomenal” practice during a voluntary minicamp in April.
Watson is playing the final season of the record-breaking contract he signed with Cleveland after being traded by the Houston Texans. In that time, he has been able to play in just 19 of 68 possible games, so the Browns may want to finally get something for all of that money.
In addition, after trading away Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco last season, and not adding a veteran this offseason, without Watson, the Browns would be left with Sanders and Gabriel coming off underwhelming rookie seasons. Taylen Green, a sixth-round pick from this year’s draft, is seen as a developmental project who may be years away from becoming a starter.
It is a somewhat bizarre convergence of circumstances that could pave the way for an incredible comeback season by Watson.
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